by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing BoardPosted: Friday, September 1, 2017 at 3:41PM EDT

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), funded by the Dairy Farm Families of Wisconsin, coordinated a state-wide effort with Wisconsin cheesemakers to send over 17,000 pounds of cheese to Houston to provide nutritious food for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

“We are deeply saddened by the devastation facing Texas residents in the wake of Hurricane Harvey,” says Suzanne Fanning, WMMB VP of Marketing Communications. “Our Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers are inherently focused on helping others so we offered them a way to get involved. Their response to our call for donations was overwhelming – we were initially hoping to send 200 pounds of cheese, but the donations kept pouring in – totaling over 17,000 pounds!”

On Friday, September 1, WMMB employees, cheese company employees and dairy farmers, packed a delivery truck in Madison with more than 17,000 pounds of smoked string cheese, cheese curds, muenster, parmesan, classic cheddar and more. The shipment also included 300 pounds of butter.

The delivery is expected to arrive at the Houston Food Bank next week. The Houston Food Bank is the nation’s largest food bank with distribution to its network of nearly 600 hunger relief charities in 18 Southeast Texas counties. Shipping and logistics support is being provided by Independent Procurement Alliance Program (IPAP), based in Appleton, Wisconsin.

About WMMB: The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is a nonprofit organization of dairy farmers that promotes the consumption of milk, cheese and other dairy products made in America’s Dairyland. For more information about WMMB, visit www.wmmb.com or connect with the company on Facebook.

About Wisconsin Cheese: Wisconsin produces 45% of the specialty cheese in the US and currently holds the titles for US Cheese Champion and World Cheese Champion. Wisconsin has the only Master Cheesemaker Program outside of Europe.